The 2011 Achebe Colloquium on Africa, convened by Brown University David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and Professor of Africana Studies Chinua Achebe, will be held on Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4, 2011 in the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts at Brown University. The Achebe Colloquium on Africa brings together an international group of leading scholars, officials from African governments, the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and other organizations for two days of intense deliberation and exchange of ideas on the importance of strengthening democracy and peace on the African continent.

This year’s colloquium will focus on several key issues that are defining political and economic developments in Africa and the world – the Arab Spring; the ongoing crisis in Darfur, and the emergence of Southern Sudan as the world’s newest nation. In conjunction with Brown University’s “Year of China” celebration, the colloquium will also address China’s presence in Africa as well as the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

Distinguished keynote speakers for this year’s colloquium include former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Chief Emeka Anyaoku; the Libyan Ambassador to the United States Ali Suleiman Aujali and Canadian Ambassador (Ret) John Schram. The colloquium will open with a welcome address by Brown University President Ruth Simmons. Other Speakers include Ali Mazrui, Chenjerai Hove, Robert I. Rotberg, Larry Diamond, Lina M. Fruzzetti, Alex Vines, Richard Dowden, Ambassador John Campbell, Colonel James J. Hentz, Scott D. Taylor, Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, Xiaohong He, Ambassador Walter Carrington, Eric Reeves, Alex De Waal, Christa Capozzola, Muna B. Ndulo, Peter M. Lewis, Richard Joseph, Daniel Serwer, Abdelwahab El-Affendi, Chibli Mallat, Emad Shahin, Lina Khatib, Tarek Masoud, Ali Dinar, Roger Middleton, and Rebecca Hamilton.


The first day of the colloquium will feature panels on the Arab Spring, the challenges to democratization and nation-building in the horn of Africa, Darfur’s journey to sustainable peace, and obstacles facing Southern Sudan as the world's newest nation.

On the second day of the colloquium, panellists will discuss China’s presence in Africa, the role of the United States and China in Africa, and the prospects for a stable democracy in the beleaguered country of Zimbabwe.

This year’s colloquium will close with a exciting session exploring the power of literature featuring renowned poets and spoken word performance artists from the United States, Canada, Italy, and South Africa. Chaired by Alastair Niven Cumberland Lodge, England, some of the poets reading their poetry include Chinua Achebe, Sonia Sanchez, Jayne Cortez, Twin Poets, Yusef Komunyakaa, Raphael d'Abdon, Bassey Ikpi, Shailja Patel, Titilope Sonuga, and Offiong Bassey.

This will be Brown’s third annual Achebe Colloquium on Africa. The 2010 colloquium focused attention on three African nations — Rwanda, Congo, and Nigeria — and the crucial issues impacting the countries, the continent, and the world, and the 2009 colloquium addressed the problems and prospects of the 2010 Nigerian elections.
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The colloquium schedule and other details are available online at www.brown.edu/web/achebe-colloquium/


http://saharareporters.com/press-release/2011-achebe-colloquium-africa-hold-december

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